Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Roundtable

Table of Contents

List of Handouts

GOALS AND AUDIENCES

ROUNDTABLE INTRODUCTION

Speaker:
  Wayne Lei
    Director of Environmental Policy Portland General Electric (PGE)
    503-464-8988, wayne_lei@pgn.com
    Web: http://www.pge-online.com

Presentation
Wayne Lei: Lei welcomed the roundtable attendees. He described the information available through the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases program. Detailed carbon emissions and mitigation data are available via reports filed through the program, authorized by Section 1605b of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The program gives companies, agencies, and even individuals an opportunity to report their estimated greenhouse gas emissions and results of projects undertaken to reduce emissions. Information filed in the reports is available in a public database. This year, the program will provide a tool for calculating equivalent carbon savings of solid waste recycling programs.

(Northwest entities filing reports in 1997, the last year for which data is available, include BP Amoco, Oregon State University, PacifiCorp, PGE, Snohomish County Public Utility District, Seattle City Light, Tacoma Public Utilities, and Vanalco. For details about the voluntary reporting program and report information, visit http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/frntvrgg.html).

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND P2

• Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow (BEST) brochure, Portland Energy Office
• City Energy Challenge brochure, Portland Energy Office

Background
The purpose of the session was to give an overview of sustainability programs and projects in Portland.

The Bottom Line
A number of Portland-area businesses are incorporating sustainability into their operations by reducing toxics and waste, and by using energy and water more efficiently.

Presentation The city of Portland is interested in basing municipal policies on sustainability. To that end, the city is exploring whether to adopt an ISO 14001-certified environmental management system.

Four Portland-area companies are setting good examples of incorporating sustainability into their activities. They include:

• Rejuvenation, which makes reproductions of antique lighting fixtures
• Epson America, which manufactures printers, scanners, and other electronic devices
• Sulzer Bingham, which makes centrifugal pumps
• Collins Pine, a forest products company

Rejuvenation Lamp and Fixture Co.:
Rejuvenation donates 5 percent of its pre-tax profits to housing, arts, environmental, and historic preservation causes. The company is a member of the local chapter of Business for Social Responsibility (http://www.bsr.org). Visit Rejuvenation at http://www.rejuvenation.com.

Epson America:
A U.S. affiliate of Seico Epson, Epson America is a partner in the voluntary Climate Wise program and the only Portland-area firm with an ISO 14001-certified environmental management system. Visit Epson at http://www.epson.com/northamerica.html.

Sulzer Bingham Pumps:
In 1990, Sulzer Bingham initiated total quality management to improve product quality, customer satisfaction and employee morale. Sulzer Bingham has piloted P2 projects through the city of Portland’s and Oregon DEQ’s Environmental Assistance Project. The company is a Climate Wise partner, and has set goals for reducing energy, water, and toxics use. Visit Sulzer Bingham at http://www.sulzerpumps.com.

Collins Pine:
Management of the company’s forests are certified to Forest Stewardship Council (http://www.fscus.org) criteria. The Natural Step (http://www.naturalstep.org) principles guide operation of Collins mills. Visit Collins Pine at http://www.collinswood.com.

The city is seeking better integration of its development and sustainability activities. Examples of the city’s sustainability activities include:

• Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow (BEST) awards, which recognize companies for energy efficiency, water efficiency, waste reduction and implementation of transportation alternatives. Companies that have received BEST awards have cumulatively reduced costs by $8.2 million, equal to 400 jobs at $10 per hour. Visit BEST at http://www.ci.portland.or.us/energy/bestmain.html.
• The city has marketed Climate Wise to local businesses (http://www.epa.gov/climatewise)
• The Natural Step national conference was held in Portland April 14-18, 1999.

Discussion
Discussion issues included communicating with the public and water efficiency.

Communicating with the Public: In response to a question about communicating P2 benefits in ways the public can understand, Saltzman said it is important to be results-oriented and use analogies to build understanding. For example, water efficiency savings could be described as: enough water was saved to fill the Portland Coliseum.

Water Efficiency: Conservation-based pricing for water may be considered by the City Council. Another water-related issue before the council is roads’ contributions to stormwater runoff and combined sewer overflows.

For more information about Portland sustainability activities, visit the Sustainable Portland Commission at http://www.ci.portland.or.us/energy/sustainability.html.

Sustainability Resources

Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center
http://www.pprc.org Compilation of library publications available

Livable Oregon
http://www.livable.org

Ecotrust
http://www.ecotrust.org

Sustainable Northwest
http://www.sustainablenorthwest.org

Sustainable Seattle
http://www.scn.org/sustainable

World Resources Institute
http://www.wri.org

Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development
http://www.sustainable.doe.gov

Industry and Sustainable Development

Facilitator:
  David Kunz
    Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
    503-229-6237, kunz.david@deq.state.or.us
    Web: http://www.deq.state.or.us

Speakers:
  Morgan Rider
    Environmental, Health & Safety LSI Logic
    503-618-4755, mrider@lsil.com
    Web: http://www.lsil.com

  Jill Peterson
    Nike Environmental Action Team Nike
    503-532-0316, jill.peterson@nike.com

  Dick Crosbie
    Chief Chemist Nike
    503-671-6453, http://www.nikebiz.com

  Connie Grenz
    Director of Strategic Management Services Collins Pine
    503-471-2234, cgrenz@collinsco.com
    Web: http://www.collinswood.com

  Jim Whitty
    Center for Watershed and Community Health
    503-293-7201, 541-744-7072, bdoppelt.f10@worldnet.att.net

• Nike Corporate Environmental Mission and Policy summary
• "Nike Involved," brochure about Nike environmental programs

Background
The purpose of the session was to provide examples of how various industries have integrated sustainability into their operations.

The Bottom Line

• LSI Logic sets measurable pollution prevention and waste reduction goals. Employees are held accountable for demonstrating improved environmental performance through employee performance evaluations.
• Nike is integrating sustainability into its operations through corporate policies covering product development, manufacturing operations, supply chain management, and employee activities. The company has reduced solvent, measured in grams per pair of shoes manufactured, 74 percent since 1995.
• Each employee at Collins Pine forest products mills in Klamath Falls, Ore., is asked to take responsibility for environmental outcomes. Sustainability initiatives saved the mills $1 million last year.
• A bill in the Oregon Legislature would require a study of an integrated strategy for achieving sustainable development goals through a performance-based regulatory system tied to measurable environmental goals.

Presentations

Morgan Rider: LSI Logic, a company founded in 1982 in Milpitas, Calif., manufactures specialty chips for specific applications, such as laptop computers, games, cellular telephones, and automated teller machines. The company built its Gresham, Ore., plant in 1997. Company environmental goals include reducing the toxicity of process chemicals, chemical use reduction, water and energy efficiency, solid waste reduction, and employee trip reduction.

Employees are accountable for environmental performance through their job evaluations. The environmental performance that employees must demonstrate varies depending on job responsibilities. A process engineer, for example, cannot meet the performance requirement merely by riding the bus to work. However, administrative employees who do not work with process chemicals can meet their requirement by reducing automobile commute trips.

All LSI Logic facilities are ISO 9001 certified. The company’s EMS conforms to ISO 14001 standards. The company is considering seeking ISO certification of its EMS, but only because customers are asking for it, not because the company thinks there would be additional environmental benefits.

Since 1987, LSI Logic has reduced hazardous waste by 88 percent company-wide, which is normalized data to correct for variations in production. Projects for 1998 included a 12,000-gallon reduction in process chemicals, recycling of 300,000 pounds of chemicals, water efficiency savings totaling 10 million gallons, and a 38-ton reduction in solid waste generation.

Examples of LSI Logic sustainability projects include:

• Chemical Reuse: A high degree of chemical purity is required for chip manufacturing. Other industries that use the same chemicals do not require high purity. Process chemicals are marketed to other industries after their use in chip manufacturing. For example, used isopropyl alcohol is sold to windshield washing fluid manufacturers, and used phosphoric acid is marketed to the oil and gas industry.
• Water Reclamation: Company fabrication plants can produce 1 million gallons of wastewater daily, but only 500,000 gallons are discharged. An ultra-pure water recycling loop conserves 100,000 gallons of water daily.
• Stormwater Management: The Gresham plant has a six-acre retention pond, 55 catch basins, oil/water separators in catch basins, and 1,800 feet of bioswales.
• Materials Management: Purchases of new chemicals and process tools must be reviewed and approved by the environmental, health and safety office.
• Trip Reduction: All employees are given Tri-Met transit passes
• Energy Efficiency: Efficient lighting and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment has been installed in the Gresham plant. LSI Logic is a partner in EPA’s Green Lights program (http://www.epa.gov/greenlights)
• Solid Waste Reduction: Last year, the Gresham plant converted to an on-line accounting system, saving 600 tons of paper.

To see a company environmental report, visit http://www.lsil.com/about/unit3_6.html

Jill Peterson: Nike formed an environmental action team in 1993 to develop programs for reducing the company’s environmental impacts. Since then, the company’s operations have expanded significantly, with the workforce growing from 6,000 to nearly 20,000. About half a million people worldwide work in manufacturing Nike-branded products. In 1998, the company adopted a corporate environmental mission and policy statement to incorporate sustainability into all business operations, focusing on a "triple bottom line" of ecology, equity and economy. The company follows The Natural Step principles, including the four system conditions. As a complement to The Natural Step, Nike follows the five principles for a learning organization articulated by Dr. Peter Senge, who chairs the Society for Organizational Learning (http://www.sol-ne.org). The five principles are: 1) personal mastery, 2) systems thinking, 3) mental models, 4) team learning, and 5) shared vision. Senge is the author of The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization.

Examples of sustainability measures adopted by Nike include:

• Forest Products Procurement: No pulp or wood products from old growth or frontier forests will be used. Purchasing preference goes to products from forests certified to Forest Stewardship Council criteria, when price and availability allows.
• Product Development: Life cycle considerations are incorporated into product development, including design, manufacturing operations, packaging, sports surfaces and product reuse. For example, the proportion of organic cotton used in T-shirts produced in the U.S. rose from 3 percent in 1997 to 75 percent in 1998.
• Green Building: Nike’s European headquarters buildings, located in the Netherlands and designed by architect William McDonough, make use of daylighting, native plant landscaping, energy-efficient HVAC, and a catchment system for stormwater that is used for irrigation and toilets. Similar measures will be incorporated into the Beaverton, Ore., campus.

Dick Crosbie: Since 1990, Nike has been working with outsource manufacturing plants on reducing solvent-related emissions from adhesives, primers, mold release agents, and degreasers. In 1992, ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were eliminated from manufacturing processes. In 1993, the company set a goal to reduce solvent-related volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions 90 percent by 2001 and began exploring solvent substitutes. Nike calculated that its solvent consumption totaled 340 grams (about 12 ounces) per pair of shoes. Over a two-year period, a water-based mold release agent was introduced to polyurethane production processes in 40 plants. Nearly all Nike shoes are produced with water-based adhesives (see PPRC technology review of water-based adhesives at http://www.pprc.org/pprc/p2tech/waterbsd/wbintro.html). Nike worked with vendors to replace solvent degreasers, such as methylene chloride, with detergents that can be safely discharged with wastewater. As of November 1998, solvent consumption had been reduced 74 percent, to 89 grams (about 3 ounces) per pair.

Discussion
Discussion issues included extending product life span, supply chain management, product design, and motivating employees.

Product Life Span: In an effort to extend product life spans, Crosbie said Nike is exploring leasing shoes rather than selling them. Under this concept, shoes would be returned to Nike for replacement of worn parts.

Supply Chain Management: Crosbie said Nike does not control purchasing decisions made by outsource manufacturing plants, but the issue is being explored. Indoor air quality inside outsource plants has improved, with much less dust and solvent odor. Product Design: Water-based adhesives are not compatible with all substrates. Crosbie is publishing a list of materials that are compatible with water-based adhesives.

Employee Motivation: Peterson said business units are encouraged to consult the environmental action team to learn about sustainability principles. Internal marketing of sustainability is conducted through employee newsletters and a corporate intranet.

For more information about Nike’s environmental initiatives, visit http://www.nikebiz.com/social/environ/environ_nj.html

Connie Grenz: Collins Pine acquired a Klamath Falls, Ore. mill site in 1996 and set out to incorporate sustainability into mill operations. At various times in 1997, Collins Pine stopped production unit by unit at the site’s particleboard, siding and plywood mills so that the 600 employees could learn about the company’s sustainability plans. Collins Pine follows The Natural Step principles, and is asking all employees to think of themselves as environmental managers. Employees are asked to keep in mind The Natural Step’s four system conditions when making purchasing decisions. The intent is to help them think about systems, cycles and efficiency. The company acts on the assumption that economy and ecology are linked, and that surpassing nature’s limits carries consequences.

Sustainability initiatives saved the mill $1 million last year. Employee teams were formed to develop sustainability projects in the areas of energy efficiency, water efficiency, highway cleanup, recycling, and clean air. A product packaging and design team will be formed this year. Project examples include:

• Sander Dust Reuse: Burning of sander dust was discontinued. The material was reintroduced into the particleboard manufacturing process. The change enabled the particleboard mill to shut down a boiler and reduce air emissions by approximately 543 tons annually, including 466 tons of nitrogen oxides, 54 tons of particulates, 2.3 tons of sulfur dioxide, and 20 tons of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Estimated cost savings from avoided chip purchases totaled $562,000.

• Compressed Air Savings: Replacement of compressed air with a fan in a blowoff system saved 517,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, reducing electricity bills by $18,000 annually.

• Steam Savings: Improving the efficiency of a steam trap is saving $25,000 per year in gas and electricity.

• Water Efficiency: Reuse of condensate saves 6 million gallons of water and $35,000 per year.

• Packing Product Reuse: Pallets and crates are sent back to vendors for reuse.

Management of Collins’ Pine’s forests are certified to Forest Stewardship Council criteria.

Discussion
Discussion issues included indicators, the social equity system condition in The Natural Step, and application of cost savings from sustainability projects.

Indicators: The company plans to develop indicators this year to measure the outcome of sustainability projects.

Social Equity: The company tries to avoid mill closings, but must balance equity concerns with the need to stay competitive. Application of Cost Savings: Money saved from production efficiencies are budgeted for mill capital improvements. For example, Collins is exploring an alternative energy source for a chip dryer.

Read an article about Collins Pine in the Portland Business Journal: http://www.amcity.com/portland/stories/1998/03/23/focus1.html?h=Collins|Pine

Jim Whitty: HB 3135, a bill in the Oregon Legislature, would require study of an integrated strategy for achieving sustainable development goals through a performance-based regulatory system tied to measurable environmental goals. (Text of the bill is available at gopher://gopher.leg.state.or.us:70/00/measure.dir/House_Measures/hb3100.dir/hb3135g.int) The study, to be carried out by a state government task force, would examine a system covering all environmental media, improving the efficiency of regulation, and giving regulated entities flexibility of means for achieving environmental standards.

A long-term goal of a sustainable development plan would be decoupling economic growth from growth in waste and pollution. The Netherlands has implemented an environmental policy plan, or "green plan," that is an integrated, comprehensive sustainable development blueprint guiding virtually all aspects of Dutch environmental policy. While the Dutch economy has grown, carbon dioxide emissions and hazardous material usage has fallen. (To find out more about green plans, visit the Resource Renewal Institute at http://www.rri.org/default.htm)

The Oregon Progress Board (http://www.econ.state.or.us/opb/index.htm), a state agency which tracks social, economic and environmental outcomes against a set of benchmarks, is preparing a state of the environment report scheduled for release in December 1999. For more information about this project, visit http://environment.nacse.org.

Breakouts – Integrating P2 and Sustainable Development

PROGRAM UPDATES

Facilitator:
  John Palmer
    EPA Region 10
    206-553-6521, palmer.john@epa.gov
    http://www.epa.gov/region10

Background
Program representatives were asked to summarize recent program activities in four categories:

• Targeted and leveraged compliance/P2 technical assistance
• Voluntary incentive, recognition and leadership programs
• Integrating P2 incentives into regulatory programs
• Harnessing other market-based incentives

Handouts Available

• Program updates from Oregon DEQ, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, city of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, Washington Department of Ecology.
• Idaho GEMStars newsletter, Idaho DEQ
• "Reducing Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Substances in Washington: 1997 Annual Progress Report," Washington Department of Ecology
• Proposed amendments to Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, National Pollution Prevention Roundtable

City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services
  Margaret Nover, 503-823-7623, margaret@bes.ci.portland.or.us
  Gary Barnes, 503-823-7383, garyb@bes.ci.portland.or.us
  Kelly Hendryx, 503-823-7585, kellyh@bes.ci.portland.or.us
  Web Site: http://www.europa.com/environmentalservices

Energy Office
  503-823-7222, pdxenergy@ci.portland.or.us
  Web Site: http://www.ci.portland.or.us/energy/index.html

BMPs
The city is implementing best management practices for dental offices to comply with the Portland sewer ordinance. The city and Oregon Dental Association are working together to educate dentists, with the goal of a 90 percent compliance rate. Targeted wastes include amalgam and X-ray fixer. A similar program is being developed for photo processors.
Dental BMPs Contact: Kelly Hendryx
Photo Processors BMPs Contact: Gary Barnes

Targeted Technical Assistance
The city is working with the Portland Interagency Brownfield Workgroup on examining alternatives to auto recycling yards in various watersheds. Alternatives range from doing nothing to full cleanup and relocation.

Green Neighborhood Network
The network is a partnership to assist residents and businesses with environmental management. The Business Sense project is a business community assistance effort in which high school students are trained to provide on-site assistance in energy and water efficiency, natural landscaping, and recycling.

The Natural Step and Small Businesses
A pilot project is underway for a small company to develop an environmental management system for its manufacturing plant, using The Natural Step principles.

Strategies for Sustainability Workshop
The Portland Energy Office is leading a series of four workshops that will present expert speakers on residential sustainability, business practices, nature in the city, and social equity. The workshops are designed for diverse audiences of government, business, NGOs, consultants and political leaders.

Sustainability Project
The Bureau of Environmental Services is responding to a 1998 report from the Portland Sustainability Commission. The response will cover concerns listed in the report, identify agency work that supports sustainability, and agency work that falls short.

Integrating P2 into Regulatory Programs
The city is working with Oregon DEQ and EPA Region 10 on holistic approaches to managing environmental issues with multiple objectives. Examples include Portland’s combined sewer overflow project and current endangered species listings.

Conservation Incentives Summit
Governor John Kitzhaber led a conservation incentives summit on April 19, at which short and long-term actions to ensure effective conservation incentives in Oregon were discussed. Attendance was by invitation only.

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
  David Kunz
    503-229-6237, kunz.david@deq.state.or.us
    Web Site: http://www.deq.state.or.us

Environmental Management Systems Incentives Project (EMSIP)
Agreements between DEQ and participating companies are being drafted to clarify project expectations. Baseline data for three of the pilots have been sent to a national database project for evaluating the effectiveness of environmental management systems.

Contact: Marianne Fitzgerald, Oregon DEQ, 503-229-5946, fitzgerald.marianne@deq.state.or.us

Dry Cleaners
In response to dry cleaners legislation (see February 1998 Regional Roundtable, http://www.pprc.org/pprc/pubs/rrt/feb98min.html#dryclean), 14 cleaning shops have added wet cleaning services, with many taking advantage of the P2 income tax credit established for dry cleaners. Some shops have switched to an alternative petroleum-based solvent, called Exxon DF 2000. (For information about this product, visit http://www.exxon.com/exxonchemical/mp/df2000/index.htm)

Contact: Elaine Glendening, Oregon DEQ, 503-229-6015, glendening.elaine@deq.state.or.us

Resource Efficiency Pilots
Resource Efficiency Program Model Cities pilot projects with the cities of Milwaukie, Cannon Beach and Corvallis are complete. Results: 57,000 pounds of waste prevented, and 5.5 millions of water, 360,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, and 1.9 million cubic feet of natural gas saved. Estimated savings of 71 participating businesses averaged $42 per employee. Projects underway in Bend and Yamhill County include a look at the impacts of reduced waste generation on greenhouse gas emissions.

Contact: Jan Whitworth, Oregon DEQ, 503-229-6434,whitworth.jan@deq.state.or.us

Lane County P2 Coalition
The Lane County pollution prevention coalition team (P2C) has undertaken a fleet maintenance training program for five public fleets.

Contact: Kim Kagelaris, city of Springfield, 541-726-3693, kkagelaris@ci.springfield.or.us

P2 and Sustainability Pilot
The pilot assists small and medium-sized businesses with implementing measurable sustainability conditions in daily operations. A cross-media team from DEQ and the city of Portland recently assisted Rejuvenation, Inc. with process mapping and material balancing.

Contact: Jill Inahara, DEQ, 503-229-6147, inahara.jill@deq.state.or.us

Metal Finishing Technical Assistance
DEQ’s Northwest regional air quality staff is planning a P2 technical assistance campaign for metal finishers. About 100 permitted and non-permitted businesses have been identified for the project.

Contact: Beth Moore, 503-229-5586, moore.beth@deq.state.or.us

Shipyard Sandblast Grit Pilot
The International Port of Coos Bay has received a grant for a pilot study on reusing spent sandblast grit in asphalt manufacturing, while adhering to air, water and waste regulations. Currently, spent sandblast grit is disposed of in landfills.

Contact: Bob Guerra, 541-776-6010, guerra.bob@deq.state.or.us

P2 Integration into Watershed Plans
Total maximum daily load (TMDL) analyses and plans are being developed to reduce pollution of the Umatilla River. Proposed load reductions for temperature, phosphorus and sediment have been drafted. About 75 people are involved on technical and stakeholder advisory committees. P2 community education has reached an estimated 300 people.

Contact: Don Butcher, Oregon DEQ, 541-278-4603, butcher.don@deq.state.or.us

P2 in Enforcement
DEQ has developed a tracking system for enforcement actions using P2 to achieve compliance.

Contact: Larry Cwik, Oregon DEQ, 503-229-5728, cwik.larry@deq.state.or.us

P2 in Wastewater Treatment
Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies (ACWA) is developing BMPs for fast food restaurants, focusing on oil and grease pollution prevention.

Contact: Janet Gillaspie, ACWA, 503-236-6722

P2 in Stormwater
DEQ is developing stormwater BMPs and compliance/technical assistance outreach for watershed councils, local governments, and businesses. Certain businesses on the Columbia River Slough will have BMPs included in permit renewals.

Contact: Dennis Jurries, 503-229-5937, jurries.dennis@deq.state.or.us

Eastern Region P2 Team
A P2 team has been formed for DEQ’s eastern region. The team will look for opportunities to provide eastern Oregon businesses with P2 technical assistance.

Contact: David Kunz, 503-229-6237, kunz.david@deq.state.or.us

New PPIS Projects
Six Pollution Prevention Incentives for States (PPIS) projects are planned for the 1999 grant round. They include: 1) electronic reporting for permitted toxic waste reduction and prevention, 2) "Green Sticker" recognition for printers, 3) air quality P2 for southwest Oregon communities, focusing on wood stoves and cars, 4) P2 handbook for auto sales industry, 5) P2 for Oregon Environmental Council’s Willamette Basin Toxics project, 6) support for city of Portland fish habitat sustainability workshop and internal toxics use reduction.

Contact: David Kunz, 503-229-6237, kunz.david@deq.state.or.us

Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology)
  Judy Kennedy
    360-407-6744, jken461@ecy.wa.gov
  Hugh O’Neill
    360-407-6354, hone461@ecy.wa.gov
  Web Site: http://www.wa.gov/ecology

Sector Campaigns
Ecology has carried out sector campaigns for paint manufacturing, national security facilities, and school laboratories, and also has conducted training for auto recyclers. Site visits to paint manufacturers found that the industry is doing a significant amount of pollution prevention, such as solvent and wash water reuse, and product reformulation. Details are available in the campaign report, Publication 98-410. To facilitate technology transfer within and from military installations, a web site has been established to share information about military P2 projects. Visit the site at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/hwtrp2/sectors/ta_fedfacil.htm.

Paint manufacturing contact: Margit Bantowsky, 360-407-6353, mban461@ecy.wa.gov
National security facilities contact: Rob Reuter, 425-649-7086, rreu461@ecy.wa.gov

Ecology and PPRC are working on ways to maintain information developed in sector campaigns and to house the material on PPRC’s web site.

Metal Fabricators
Metal fabricators are the focus for Ecology’s next sector campaign. Goals of the campaign are to compile and analyze pertinent information, benchmark industry practices, and provide information on P2 opportunities to the sector, which has a high P2 potential.

Contact: James DeMay, 360-407-6338, jade461@ecy.wa.gov

Integrating P2 into Permits
Ecology is seeking a PPIS grant to integrate P2 into water quality permitting. The PEAKART tool, which will help permit writers integrate P2 into permits for facilities with rinsing operations, will soon be available on Ecology’s web site.

Contact: Jim Hanley, 425-649-7090, jaha461@ecy.wa.gov

A "must-do" P2 component was added to a Puget Sound refinery’s NPDES permit after Ecology found the company was not making good-faith efforts to implement P2 opportunities in its P2 plan.

Contact: Stan Springer, 360-407-6723, sspr461@ecy.wa.gov

Web Site
Ecology is revamping the P2 content of its web site. Top 10 P2 opportunities for various sectors, along with links, will be included.

EMS in Lieu of P2 Plans
Companies required by state law to file P2 plans can submit environmental management system documentation in lieu of a five-year update to their P2 plans. Ecology evaluated the program by conducting interviews with companies that chose the EMS option. The result of the evaluation was that the program has value for both the companies and Ecology, and therefore the option will continue to be offered. One of the reported benefits of the option is that P2 goals are better integrated into company decision-making.

Contact: Lynn Helbrecht, 360-407-6760, lhel461@ecy.wa.gov

P2 and Insurance
Ecology is working on a project to identify potential insurance incentives for implementing P2. Fact sheets have been drafted. (For a report on a discussion about using insurance as a P2 driver, see the PPRC brown bag report at http://www.pprc.org/pprc/pubs/regional/brownbag.html)

Contact: Jerry Parker, 360-407-6750, jepa461@ecy.wa.gov

P2 and Property Management
P2 is developing an education program to show property managers the liability reduction benefits of pollution prevention.

Sustainability/Green Purchasing
The states of Washington and Oregon are exploring a joint effort to make state government purchases "salmon safe." In Washington, a multi-agency task force is rewriting contract specifications for cleaning products. An agency sustainability team has been established.

"Salmon safe" purchases contact: Darin Rice, 360-407-6743, dric461@ecy.wa.gov
Agency sustainability: Darin Rice, Lynn Helbrecht (see contact information above)

Idaho Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
  John Bernardo
    208-373-0114, jbernard@deq.state.id.us
    Web Site: http://www.state.id.us/deq

Site Visits
DEQ is having Small Business Assistance Program staff conduct more site visits. SBAP was established under the Clean Air Act, but the staff will assist businesses with other media as well.

GEMStars
Funding has been received to implement the GEMStars incentive and recognition program for the first year. The program is open to businesses, community organizations, institutions and government agencies.

Administrative Changes
C. Stephen Allred has been appointed administrator of DEQ. Allred is considering transfer of additional work to the agency’s regional offices.

EPA Headquarters
  Sam Sasnett
    202-260-8020, sasnett.sam@epa.gov
  Julie Shannon
    202-260-2736, shannon.julie@epa.gov
  Web Site: http://www.epa.gov/p2

Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxins (PBTs) Initiative
In November 1998, EPA published a draft PBTs strategy and mercury action plan, coordinated across all media. (The plan is on line at http://www.epa.gov/pbt/pbtstrat.htm) The strategy has four elements:

• National Action Plan: PBTs initially selected for the strategy were 12 chemicals targeted in the binational Great Lakes toxics reduction plan. (See list of the 12 at http://www.epa.gov/pbt/aboutpbt.htm) Action plans focusing on reducing and preventing releases of the 12 chemicals to the environment are to be prepared this year, with state input.

• Process for Selecting Additional Chemicals: EPA plans to select additional chemicals for action. Candidates will be chemicals that score high in EPA’s waste minimization priorities tool.

• Preventing Introduction of New PBTs: New PBTs would be prevented from entering commerce through testing, incentives for safer alternatives, and a rule to stop re-introduction of banned chemicals.

• Measurement: EPA will use human and environmental health indicators, TRI reports, enforcement data and other tools to measure progress.

Discussion
Discussion issues included technical assistance and the hazardous waste minimization plan for PBTs.

Technical Assistance:
EPA hopes to develop sector strategies in addition to chemical-by-chemical strategies. Technical assistance will be important for front-line PBT prevention and reduction. EPA hopes that the compliance assistance centers and pollution prevention networks can work with EPA in carrying out the sector strategies.

Waste Minimization:
EPA's hazardous waste program has initiated a strategy to reduce 53 PBTs in RCRA-regulated waste through voluntary measures employing P2. (Details about the plan are on line at http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/minimize.) The focus will be on reducing toxicity of hazardous wastes, rather than merely the volume. The goal is a 10 percent cut in PBTs found in RCRA-regulated waste by 2001 and a 50 percent cut by 2005, as measured by TRI reports. The Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response is re-examining some of the inorganic wastes on the list. While they are persistent, they may not be bioaccumulative.

PPRC is preparing a topical report on PBTs that will list the 53 chemicals in the waste minimization plan, which industries use them, and how states rank. The report will be posted on PPRC’s web site in the near future.

National Pollution Prevention Roundtable
  Marianne Fitzgerald (Region 10 representative on NPPR Board)
    503-229-5946, fitzgerald.marianne@deq.state.or.us
    Web Site: http://www.p2.org

Strategic Plan
NPPR is collecting information for a strategic plan. To participate in the planning process, visit http://www.p2.org/strategy.html.

Current Projects
Current NPPR activities include working with Asian P2 roundtables, carrying out the next phase of the Material Accounting Project, and advocating amendments to the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990.

Thurston County, Washington
  Thuy Vu
    360-754-4111, vuythuy@co.thurston.wa.us
    Web Site: http://www.halcyon.com/thurston/enhealth

Agriculture Technical Assistance
The Thurston County Environmental Health Department is undertaking a technical assistance project to educate tree farms, pesticide applicators and nurseries about the county’s non-point source ordinance. Participation in the visits is voluntary. Non-participating businesses will be subject to compliance inspections.

Underground Oil Tanks
The county is working with the city of Olympia to identify underground home heating oil tanks, and with the local fire department to make sure unused tanks are decommissioned properly.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
  Tapio Kuusinen
    509-372-4234, Tapio.Kuusinen@pnl.gov
    Web Site: http://www.pnl.gov

Small Business Technical Assistance
PNL’s Office of Small Business Programs offers up to 40 hours of technical assistance, not otherwise available in the private sector, for businesses that have fewer than 500 employees. PNL can assist a business in any state and from any sector with any questions. In the 10 counties adjacent to Hanford, businesses are eligible for assistance regardless of their size. The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (http://www.emsl.pnl.gov) may be able to assist with research projects. The Agri-Business Commercialization and Development Center helps commercialize agricultural technologies in central Washington. The Applied Process Engineering Laboratory (http://www.apel.org) supports scale-up of process technologies, especially environmental technologies. (For details about PNL’s business assistance programs, visit http://www.pnl.gov/edo.)

Environmental Accounting Project
PNL is working on the Environmental Accounting Project to incorporate environmental cost elements into commercial small business accounting software marketed by Peachtree and Bestware. (For details about this project, visit http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/acctg).

ChemAlliance
PNL supports the ChemAlliance compliance assistance center (http://www.chemalliance.org), which serves chemical process industries.

EPA Region 10
  Carolyn Gangmark
    206-553-4072, gangmark.carolyn@epa.gov
  John Palmer
    206-553-6521, palmer.john@epa.gov
  Web Site: http://www.epa.gov/region10

Awards
A work group at the Office of Reinvention is developing a consolidated national award for high achieving businesses. Current awards for programs such as Energy Star and WasteWise may be categories in the consolidated program.
Contact: Carolyn Gangmark

Effluent Trading
The Boise River effluent trading pilot project is going ahead, but a proposed project for the Puyallup River has fallen through.
Contact: Claire Schary, 206-553-8514, schary.claire@epa.gov

Pollution Prevention in Permitting Pilot project (P4)
Efforts are under way to incorporate the P4 permitting approach into national air permitting policy. (For a retrospective about P4, see the latest edition of P2 Northwest at http://www.pprc.org/pprc/pubs/newslets/newssp99.html.)

Discussion
A question was asked about PPRC’s plans for a food processing industrial roundtable. Madeline Sten said the food processing industry is highly competitive and was reluctant to share information at a roundtable. As an alternative, PPRC is creating a food processing sector resource on its web site. Water use, water quality, and genetically engineered food were suggested as possible drivers for engaging the food processing industry.

Facilitator:
  David Kunz
    Oregon DEQ
    503-229-6237, kunz.david@deq.state.or.us
    Web: http://www.deq.state.or.us

Speaker

  Eric Dover
    Physicians for Social Responsibility
    503-274-2720, dovers@open.org
    Web: http://www.psr.org

Background
The purpose of the session was to gain understanding of persistent, bioaccumulative toxins (PBTs), including origins, exposure pathways, and health and environmental impacts.

The Bottom Line
PBTs, including halogenated pesticides, industrial chemicals, and unwanted byproducts of industrial processes, are long-lasting substances that can migrate easily among environmental media, and can cause a variety of health impacts in people and wildlife. Among the impacts are endocrine disruption, which in turn may result in immune system suppression, cancer, and reproductive disorders. Neurotoxicity, skin disease, and hepatitic effects also have been noted.

Presentation
Eric Dover: PBTs have three general characteristics:

• Persistence: They are mobile and last a long time in the environment, resisting breakdown by light, biological activity, or chemistry.

• Bioaccumulation: Because of their persistence, PBTs can bioaccumulate in the food chain, resulting in high concentrations in the bodies of top-line predators such as salmon, polar bears and fish-eating birds. PBTs can enter the food chain through contaminated bottom sediments or from the water column. High levels of PBT accumulation have been found in Arctic organisms.

• Toxicity: PBTs may cause a variety of disorders in people and wildlife, including genetic impacts affecting offspring.

There are three main types of PBTs:

• Halogenated Pesticides: The best-known example is DDT. Others include toxaphene, mirex, chlordane, heptachlor, and aldrin/dieldrin. All of the above chemicals are banned from U.S. commerce. These chemicals are also known as chlorinated hydrocarbons or organochlorines.

• Industrial Chemicals: A well-known example is polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a class of chemicals that was widely used as coolants and lubricants for transformers, capacitors and other electrical equipment. Manufacturing of PCBs ceased in 1977. Another example is heavy metals, such as zinc, a metal used for alloys and coatings.

• Unwanted Industrial Byproducts: Examples include dioxins and furans, which can be produced during chlorine bleaching of paper, manufacturing of halogenated pesticides, and by incineration of chlorinated substances. Another example is mercury, emitted from coal-fired power plants.

Health effects of PBTs may include the following, some of which are interrelated:

• Endocrine disruption. Some PBTs block production, secretion or binding action of hormones that regulate growth, reproduction, behavior and other bodily functions. Others mimic hormones. The disruption or mimicking actions of PBTs may result in reproductive disorders, immune system suppression, or increased cancer incidence.

• Reproductive disorders may include reduced sperm counts in human males, and abnormal development of sexual organs in fish and wildlife.

• Immune system suppression can lead to increased incidence of cancer.

• Cancer, including increased incidence of breast cancer in women and testicular cancer in men.

• Genetic effects, such as learning disabilities and behavioral abnormalities in children of parents exposed to PBTs.

• Neurotoxicity, including behavioral abnormalities, muscle tremors, vision and hearing difficulties

• Skin effects. An example is chloracne, a severe skin disease.

• Hepatitic effects, resulting in increased production of liver enzymes.

Signs of PBT damage are found in different types of wildlife. Examples include: 1) Male alligators living in a Florida lake that was the site of a 1980 DDT spill were found to have abnormally small sexual organs and reduced testosterone levels, 2) Polar bear cubs have been found with both male and female features, 3) Fish downstream from industrial areas in the United Kingdom exhibited ambiguous genitalia.

Evidence is accumulating of human health effects, including cancers and reproductive disorders in both men and women.

In women, breast cancer incidence has risen from 80 per 100,000 in 1973 to 110 per 100,000 in 1991. There is a 1 percent increase in breast cancer incidence per year. In 1950, women had a 1 in 20 chance of contracting breast cancer. By 1998, those odds had increased to 1 in 8. A Dutch study of 7,700 women compared persons with varying concentrations of dieldrin in their bodies. Women with the highest levels of this chlorinated pesticide were twice as likely to develop breast cancer.

The endometrium is a tissue lining in the uterus. Endometriosis is a disorder in which tissue that looks and acts like the endometrium is found elsewhere in the body, commonly in the abdominal cavity. The disease, which can be very painful, has stricken 15 million U.S. women between the ages of 15 and 45.

PBTs can be transferred from mothers to children through breast milk, and can interfere with maturation of organs and the nervous system in offspring.

Sperm counts have fallen 1 percent per year since 1940 in U.S. males. A French study of 1,351 men reported in the New England Journal of Medicine showed a one-third reduction in sperm count between 1973 and 1992. Testicular cancer incidence rose from 3 per 100,000 to 5 per 100,000 between 1973 and 1991. Incidence of "hypospadias," abnormal urethra development in male babies, doubled between 1968 and 1993. Male rats dosed with a dioxin concentration of 0.064 micrograms per kilogram (about two-thirds of 1 part per billion) experienced delayed testes descent, abnormally small sexual organs, and impaired sperm production.

A number of PBTs have multiple health effects. Examples are below:

• Dioxins: There are 210 varieties in this family of chemicals. Among the most toxic is TCDD. Dioxins are carcinogenic and suppress immune system function. They cause reproductive disorders and chloracne.

• PCBs: While U.S. manufacturing of PCBs ceased more than two decades ago, exposure can occur from hazardous waste sites, improper dumping, and leakage from electrical transformers. Health effects include carcinogenecity, neurotoxicity, skin irritations, hepatitic effects, and genetic effects. A study of 343 women, 242 of whom ate Lake Michigan fish and 71 who didn’t, showed that the women with the highest exposure to PCBs from eating the fish gave birth to low birth weight babies. The children experienced slower reflexes, impaired motor function, lower intelligence quotients, poor memory, and poor reading comprehension. Every 1-point drop in IQ results in $100,000 in lost income.

• DDT: Health effects of DDT and two similar chemicals, DDD and DDE, include neurological effects, cancer, and reproductive disorders. There have been conflicting studies about the link between DDT/DDD/DDE and cancer. A 1997 study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine found no link between organochlorines and breast cancer. But a National Cancer Institute study found that women suffering from estrogen receptor positive breast cancer had elevated levels of DDE. A criticism of the study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine was that it lumped together organochlorines with hormone-disruptive and hormone-mimicking properties, muddying the data.

DDT is still used overseas to control malaria and as an agricultural insecticide. Alternatives to halogenated pesticides for malaria control include pyrethroids, which do not persist in the environment, bed nets and screens, biological vector controls, and better disease surveillance.

Discussion
Issues brought up in discussion included common exposure pathways. Exposure: Drinking water is a common exposure pathway for hazardous chemicals, as dramatized in the popular movie "A Civil Action." (For more information about "A Civil Action" and the Woburn, Mass., case the movie was based on, visit http://www2.shore.net/~dkennedy/woburn.html)

PBT Resources

EPA PBTs Project
http://www.epa.gov/pbt

Special Report on Environmental Endocrine Disruption: An Effects Assessment and Analysis, Risk Assessment Forum, EPA
http://www.epa.gov/ORD/WebPubs/endocrine/endocrine.pdf

Washington Department of Ecology PBTs Initiative
http://www.wa.gov/ecology/eils/bcc/bccfaq.html

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
http://atsdr1.atsdr.cdc.gov

U.N. Environment Programme Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) page
http://irptc.unep.ch/pops

Rachel’s Environmental and Health Weekly
http://www.monitor.net/rachel

Chlorine Chemistry Council library (scroll down for material on endocrine disrupters, dioxins and breast cancer research)
http://c3.org/library/browse.html

TRAINING - ONLINE FACT SHEETS IN TEN MINUTES OR LESS:
QUICK TIPS FOR NON-GEEKS

Background
The purpose of the training was to demonstrate how simple web pages can be created and customized by borrowing web page source code. PPRC encourages technical assistance providers to borrow and customize source code from PPRC’s on-line fact sheets and other PPRC resources. To obtain copies of the tip sheets used in this training, contact Catherine Dickerson (cdickerson@pprc.org) or Crispin Stutzman (cstutzman@pprc.org) at PPRC, 206-352-2050.

MEASUREMENT WORKSHOP

Facilitator:
  Madeline Sten
    PPRC
    206-352-2050, msten@pprc.org
    Web: http://www.pprc.org

Speakers:

  John Palmer
    EPA Region 10
    206-553-6521, palmer.john@epa.gov
    Web: http://www.epa.gov/region10

  David Kunz
    Oregon DEQ
    503-229-6237, kunz.david@deq.state.or.us

  Bart Collinsworth
    Oregon DEQ
    503-378-8240, collinsworth.bart@deq.state.or.us

  Marianne Fitzgerald
    Oregon DEQ
    503-229-5946,fitzgerald.marianne@deq.state.or.us
    Web: http://www.deq.state.or.us

Handouts Available

• "The P2 Measurement Challenge Part I: A National P2 Index," by Tom Neltner and Ken Zarker
  
• "Proposed Pollution Prevention Metrics Menu for Discussion at the NEWMOA P2 Roundtable Meeting, March 3-4, 1999," by NEWMOA
  
• "Proposed Conceptual Framework for Assessing Pollution Prevention Progress," assembled by Tom Neltner

Background
The purpose of the session was to share information about ongoing efforts to define pollution prevention measurement frameworks and metrics.

The Bottom Line
Measurement is an increasingly important issue for P2 programs. Agencies at all levels of government are wrestling with defining measurement goals, relating measurement goals to program goals, framing measurement programs, determining the questions they should attempt to answer, and identifying the right audiences for the information that the programs will gather. Agencies have varying measurement needs. Measurement can encompass broad environmental indicators, specific program outcomes (environmental results), and program outputs (activities). Endangered salmon runs could be a salient measurement framework for the Northwest.

Presentations
David Kunz: Sustainable development is being incorporated into Oregon DEQ’s strategic plan. Factors that come into play when measuring for sustainability are the use of renewable resources, off-site effects of decisions, quality of life, community values, and taking into account the needs of the next seven generations.

There are a variety of ways to measure for sustainability. One method is ecological footprint—the amount of land needed to support a population’s level of resource consumption. For example, Los Angeles County is 4,083 square miles in size and is home to 9.6 million people. However, the land needed to meet the county population’s current resource consumption is 40 times bigger than LA County itself. The ecological footprint of the average American is 25 acres. For the average Mexican, the footprint is 1.5 acres. (For more information about the ecological footprint concept, visit http://www.ecouncil.ac.cr/rio/focus/report/english/footprint) Indicators, such as carbon dioxide emissions and water consumption, are another tool for measuring sustainability.

An emerging concept for measuring industry sustainability is the "triple bottom line," which adds social equity and environmental quality considerations to the traditional focus on profitability.

Environmental indicators will be incorporated into DEQ’s measurements. Measurement of program outcomes—actual environmental results—will be emphasized over measurement of program outputs, which refers to activities such as permits written and inspections conducted. Measurement, however, is still a work in progress.

Oregon DEQ is developing indicators that EPA could incorporate into its core performance measures, which could help avoid the problem of different terms being used for the same concepts. An example of Oregon’s use of indicators are three related to air quality: 1) trends in emissions of the Clean Air Act’s six criteria air pollutants, 2) trends in emissions of total air pollution, and 3) number of Oregonians living in non-attainment areas (adjusted for population fluctuations).

Other examples of P2-related metrics Oregon DEQ is developing include notices of non-compliance that did not include P2 information, supplemental environmental projects that include P2, percentage of staff that attended P2 training, percentage of BMPs that are implemented, and in-house resource efficiency measures. An example of the latter is use of paper produced by an elemental chlorine-free process.

A key point to remember is that what gets measured gets done. It’s important to decide what to measure ahead of time.

Discussion
Tim Honadel of Oregon DEQ pointed out that the public sees all parts of government as the same. It would be good for different agencies to agree on measurement terms so that the public doesn’t become confused. Kunz noted that strategic planning has been an overwhelming effort for DEQ staff.

Bart Collinsworth: The DEQ hazardous waste program has three main goals:

• Waste minimization and prevention
• Safe management of hazardous chemicals
• Remediation of unauthorized releases

The goals are accompanied by objectives and outcome metrics that will be used statewide.

Objectives of the waste minimization/prevention goal include reduced use of toxic materials and reduced hazardous waste generation. An outcome measure of the toxics use reduction objective is the number of technical assistance recommendations implemented. Questions still unresolved include setting priorities for toxics use reduction and preventing cross-media transfers. Other outcome measures include amount of toxics reduced as a result of site visits, and quantity of toxics used over time. An option under consideration is holding public hearings if facilities fail to reduce their use of toxics.

Waste reduction metrics include: 1) number of waste reduction recommendations implemented in the short term, 2) quantity of waste generated by small quantity (SQG) and large quantity generators (LQG), 3) percentage of hazardous waste generated by SQGs and LQGs, 4) amount of hazardous waste reduced as a result of site visits. An unresolved question is the extent to which DEQ should take the credit for waste reduction.

Safe management outcome metrics include the following: 1) number of facilities that correct safe management violations, 2) percentage of safety management violations corrected, 3) quantity of hazardous waste diverted from unsafe practices, 4) annual number of non-transportable spills and releases reported. Other outcome metrics are still being defined. They may include: 1) percentage of hazardous waste, used oil and universal waste facilities that have been inspected and are in significant compliance, and 2) number of controls, as defined in EPA’s Resource Conservation and Recovery Information System (RCRIS) database, that were put in place to prevent releases to air, soil and groundwater annually.

"Beyond compliance" metrics are being tracked already. One metric is number of "beyond compliance" recommendations being implemented.

Scores are being developed to rank the relative importance of environmental metrics. For example, the quantity of hazardous waste diverted from unsafe practices would receive the highest score. A slide show explaining ranking criteria is available by contacting Bart Collinsworth (see contact information above.)

A process improvement team is developing recommendations for a database system, the Oregon Hazardous Waste Information Exchange, for tracking measurement from the field. Canned reports and queries will be available.

Discussion
Issues raised in discussion included: 1) who takes the credit for waste reductions, 2) defining and reporting savings achieved through P2.

Credit for Waste Reductions: John Bernardo of Idaho DEQ suggested letting businesses take the credit for waste reduction. Madeline Sten of PPRC observed, however, that programs need a share of the credit for program accountability purposes. Carolyn Gangmark of EPA Region 10 said anecdotal information is the most effective way to report success to lawmakers. Using numbers alone isn’t always effective. Another way to give credit is through awards programs.

Defining and Reporting Savings: Dave Waddell of the King County Local Hazardous Waste Management Program said reporting should be focused on business savings, in order to avoid zero-sum perceptions that might occur as a result of the increased agency costs often incurred when assistance programs work with industry. Sten said driving for precise computation of savings can be difficult and may undermine measurement programs. It might be too easy to get caught up in minutiae and overlook more meaningful ways to report the outcomes of P2 programs. For example, Saltzman translated BEST’s results in terms of the number of jobs that could be created from P2 savings. Waddell suggested providing both numbers and anecdotes.

John Palmer: In 1997, EPA developed a strategic plan in response to the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). The plan includes 10 goals, and pollution prevention is the number 4 goal. Each goal has objectives and sub-objectives. Measurement is to be accomplished through indicators, outcomes and outputs.

EPA negotiated with the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS, http://www.sso.org/ecos) on defining core performance measures for tracking environmental results of state programs and for EPA compliance with GPRA. The purpose of the core performance measures is to paint a national picture. Protracted negotiations preceded a 1998 agreement between EPA and the states on the purpose of the measures.

A hierarchy of measures is included, with indicators at the top and moving down through outcomes and outputs. The measures are to be included in performance partnership agreements between EPA and states.

The P2 goal in the EPA strategic plan is fairly general. Objectives to achieve by 2005 include: 1) Reduce pesticide risk to public health and ecosystems through safer pesticides and pest management practices, 2) "Significantly reduce" the number of children with elevated blood lead levels, 3) Improve indoor air quality for an additional 15 million workers, compared to 1994 levels, 4) Reduce by 25 percent the amount of toxics released, treated, disposed of, or burned for energy recovery, compared to 1992 levels, 5) Increase recycling and reduce the quantity and toxicity of wastes, and 6) Assess 60 percent of tribal lands for environmental conditions by 2003. (To view and download a copy of the strategic plan, visit http://www.epa.gov/ocfopage/plantoc.htm)

The plan will be revised in 2002 and EPA’s goal is to develop better P2 measures. There is vigorous debate over whether P2 should be included in core performance measures. Right now, EPA’s inclination is against including P2. Since many of the media-specific measurements include P2, the question is how P2 is to be teased out separately for measurement purposes.

Marianne Fitzgerald: An article by Tom Neltner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s P2 program, and Ken Zarker of the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission points out a number of problems with core performance measures: What is counted in one state may not be applicable in another. Some states may use numerical measures, others may rely on anecdotal evidence. States do not agree on a common purpose for P2, or even on a common definition of P2. The variation has hindered efforts to make P2 programs sustainable, because of difficulties demonstrating that they make a difference.

The article proposes a national P2 index as a preferable approach, because an index could concisely communicate P2 progress to broad audiences and help assistance programs focus their resources.

The index could be a composite of five to 10 measures that reflect broad trends. It would be representative, rather than comprehensive. A good analogy is the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a widely known, easily tracked benchmark of stock market performance that is calculated from stock prices of 30 blue-chip industrial companies. Criteria for selecting the metrics should include relevance to P2; the public, management and technical staff; tacit industry support; and data availability. They should also reflect broad trends and resource efficiency. Twelve metrics were suggested for a national index. Four examples include:

• Reduced TRI waste generation
• Reduced use of mercury
• Reduced soil erosion
• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

The Northeast Waste Management Officials Association (NEWMOA) has drafted a paper proposing a baseline menu of 41 metrics that state P2 programs in the Northeast could use to broaden understanding of program accomplishments and improve program management. Examples of metrics on the list include both outcomes and outputs:

• Amount of money saved as a result of implementing a recommendation made on a site visit
• Total amount of pollution reduced by site visits
• Number of clients receiving on-site technical assistance
• Number of publications published

Discussion
Issues raised in discussion included tying metrics to industry sectors, and designing a measurement pilot project for Region 10.

Sectors: Judy Kennedy said activity measures have to be specific to industry sectors. All waste issues and emissions must be measured. To obtain outcome measurements from an industry sector, there may be some outputs that will provide a measurable indication of what’s going on.

Region 10 Project: Fish could be a salient framework for measurement in Region 10. Current and pending listings of salmon and steelhead trout affect all four states; in Washington alone, for example, 16 runs have been placed on the threatened and endangered species lists. John Palmer said choosing a measurement framework is a way to identify high priorities. John Bernardo emphasized the importance of engaging industry, the public and legislators, and Carolyn Gangmark said the measurement framework needs to be tied to a visible public issue. As an example, Dave Waddell said the School Sweeps project that helped Washington schools better manage laboratory chemicals was justified as a matter of earthquake preparedness. Indicators that would speak to immediate public concerns could include salmon, health of children and the elderly, drinking water safety, earthquake preparedness, and reproductive disorders.

Overall, the P2 community needs to learn how to tell its stories more effectively.

Action: As a result of the discussion, a decision was made for Oregon DEQ and EPA Region 10 to take the lead on a measurement project. For more information, contact David Kunz or John Palmer (contact information above).

Measurement Resource

PPRC Topical Report – Measurement and Pollution Prevention for Programs: An Overview of Methods and Listing of Resources - http://www.pprc.org/pprc/pubs/topical/measure.html

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT and MAKING LOCAL CONNECTIONS

Facilitator:
  Margaret Nover
    Portland Bureau of Environmental Services
    503-823-7623, margaret@bes.ci.portland.or.us
    Web: http://www.europa.com/environmentalservices

Speakers:

  John Hall
    Portland Development Commission
    503-823-3199, hallj@portlanddev.org
    Web: http://www.portlanddev.org

  Lynn Beaton
    Oregon Economic Development Department
    503-986-0201
    Web: http://www.econ.state.or.us

  Ed McNamara
    Prendergast & Associates – Buckman Heights Project
    503-223-6605

  Greg Acker
    Architect, Ecotrust Natural Capital Project
    503-735-9192, acker@spiretech.com
    Web: http://www.ecotrust.org

  Thuy Vu
    Thurston County, Wash., Environmental Health Department
    360-754-4111, vuthuy@co.thurston.wa.us
    Web: http://www.halcyon.com/thurston/enhealth

  Kendra Smith
    Washington County, Ore., Unified Sewerage Agency
    503-844-8118, smithk@usa-cleanwater.org
    Web: http://www.usa-cleanwater.org

  Bob Glascock
    Portland Bureau of Planning
    503-823-7845, bglascock@ci.portland.or.us
    Web: http://www.europa.com/pdxplan

  Greg East
    Portland Bureau of Water Works
    503-823-7577
    Web: http://www.water.ci.portland.or.us/index2.htm

Background
The purpose of the session was to describe examples of integrating sustainable development into ongoing local government activities, including growth management, planning, zoning, building development, wastewater management, watershed restoration, and drinking water protection.

The Bottom Line

• The Portland Development Commission is working within a growth management framework that has broad public support. Development strategies include revitalizing the central city, brownfields redevelopment, and improved transportation infrastructure.

• The Oregon Economic Development Department is incorporating sustainability into its activities, and refocusing work to direct development toward economically stressed rural communities experiencing high unemployment.

• The Buckman Heights apartment project is a commercially viable development that incorporates sustainability, including motor vehicle trip reduction, energy and water efficiency, stormwater management, and low-VOC paints.

• Ecotrust is renovating an old warehouse to help restore an urban ecosystem, advance the art of sustainable design, and build rural-urban links.

• Thurston County uses a non-point source ordinance and technical assistance as a wellhead protection strategy.

• Unified Sewerage Agency of Washington County is restoring a stream corridor significantly affected by urbanization.

• The city of Portland uses protective zoning to prevent groundwater pollution in an industrial development area.

Presentations

John Hall: Economic development activities are carried out within broad land use and growth management frameworks. Statewide land use planning began in 1973. Local comprehensive land use plans must conform to statewide goals. An element of land use planning is urban growth boundaries, designed to protect forests and farmland from sprawl. The Portland area’s urban growth boundary was established in 1979.

An elected regional government, Metro, is responsible for land use, transportation, and solid waste planning in the greater Portland area. Endangered species listings of salmon and steelhead trout in the Willamette River and lower Columbia River basins are a new factor that planners must take into account. (For more information about land use and growth management planning in Oregon, visit Metro at http://www.multnomah.lib.or.us/metro/growth/gms.html and the state Land Conservation and Development Department at http://www.lcd.state.or.us.)

The Portland urban growth boundary was established to include a 20-year supply of buildable land, as required by state law. The boundary encompasses 364 square miles and includes 24 government jurisdictions. Metro’s 2040 Regional Framework Plan is a blueprint for guiding land use planning well into the 21st century, in order to accommodate an additional 720,000 new residents by 2040, a 67 percent increase, and preserve the area’s livability.

Community design, transportation, density, economic vitality, parks, open spaces, wetlands protection, and water supply are among the issues the framework addresses. In particular, the framework establishes job and housing targets by location. A goal is to put jobs and housing in proximity, along major arterials and in urban centers, in order to reduce vehicle miles traveled. The framework, however, only addresses job and housing numbers, not their quality.

Public opinion is largely in favor of holding the urban growth boundary in place or enlarging it only slightly. In a recent poll, 46 percent favored holding the boundary in place, 32 percent favored a slight expansion and smaller lot sizes, 13 percent favored wide-open development, and 9 percent had no opinion. Increased density, however, can be politically difficult to accomplish.

Portland has a strong economy. Metropolitan Portland has added 180,000 jobs since 1992, real wages are up 9 percent since then, and educational attainment has increased, with 34 percent of Portland adults having college degrees. In-migration has brought new residents with high-tech education and skills.

Current constraints on economic development are a small number of large-acre parcels, a tight employment market, and the higher cost of cleaning up brownfield sites compared to building on greenfield sites. Other constraints include transportation and endangered salmon listings, which are likely to result in increased regulation of land use to protect fish habitat. Other challenges for economic development include diverse interest groups, changing business leadership, international economic changes, and a strong public desire to maintain Oregon’s quality of life.

The Portland Development Commission’s current strategies are to compile better information on available industrial land, revitalize the central city, redevelop brownfields, capitalize on international connections, and seek increased investment in regional transportation infrastructure.

Lynn Beaton: The state government is involved in a number of sustainability initiatives. They include the following:

Oregon Livability Initiative: Governor John Kitzhaber has made livability a big issue. In 1995, he established the Governor’s Community Solutions Team, made up of the directors of state agencies influencing growth. Those include Economic Development, Environmental Quality, Land Conservation and Development, Housing and Community Services, and Transportation. One of Kitzhaber’s goals is to prevent conflicts among agencies with differing missions. The team is responsible for developing an integrated investment plan for the state, designed to target growth in ways that take into account differing needs among Oregon’s communities. Objectives are to attract and keep good jobs; promote affordable, well located housing; provide an efficient transportation system that gives people choices; a clean environment; and managed growth. In addition to the state team, there are nine regional community solutions teams. (For more information about community solutions teams, visit http://www.governor.state.or.us/governor/olifinal.html)

Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds: The plan originally was developed in response to proposed endangered species listings of coastal coho salmon, but has since been expanded to cover salmon and steelhead trout statewide. The goals of the plan are to coordinate the programs of numerous agencies whose activities affect the health of fisheries, promote community-based habitat protection and restoration projects, monitor the results of projects, and adapt the program to take into account new information. More than 80 locally based watershed councils have initiated approximately 1,200 conservation and restoration projects. (For more information about the Oregon Plan, visit http://www.oregon-plan.org)

Other Initiatives: They include – 1) HB 3135, a proposed bill in the Oregon Legislature to study an integrated strategy for achieving sustainable development goals through a performance-based regulatory system tied to measurable environmental goals (see above for presentation from the Center for Watershed and Community Health), 2) the Willamette Valley Livability Forum (see http://170.104.101.34:80/wvlf for information), 3) DEQ’s Environmental Management Systems Incentives Project (EMSIP), 4) and HB 2473, a bill in the Oregon Legislature to authorize a study of "green taxes" (see Oregon Environmental Council presentation below).

The Economic Development Department is re-focusing its work to attract new employers to economically stressed rural communities experiencing high unemployment. The department helps small towns assess the type of development that would be most practical for them.

The department has a new attitude about sustainability and is working to integrate sustainability into its activities. The department hopes to act as a network to provide businesses with information about sustainability. A directory of sustainability groups around the Northwest has been created.

Ed McNamara: The Buckman Heights Apartments is a 144-unit, mixed-income apartment complex that was completed in August 1998. The project is the first phase of a mixed-use, mixed-income, transit-oriented development that eventually will include 266 apartments, 8 townhouses, 43,000 square feet of commercial space, and a redesigned streetscape, all on a 3.7-acre site.

The project was built around sustainability and received a pollution prevention award from the city of Portland. In addition to its location in proximity to transit lines, the project offers a bicycle storage facility, and has parking spaces for cars used for car sharing (for more information about car sharing, see PPRC’s brown bag report at http://www.pprc.org/pprc/pubs/brownbag.html. The project was built with recycled materials, low-VOC paints, energy-efficient and water-efficient fixtures, and stormwater infiltration features. Further, the project is a mainstream commercial project that is expected to turn a profit. It was built with mainstream financing, architects and contractors.

One goal of mixed-use development is to put housing and shopping in proximity in order to enliven the neighborhood, facilitate walking and cut down on vehicle miles traveled. A carpeting store is due to go into the 43,000 square feet of commercial space.

The development was planned to provide a pleasant ambiance that encourages walking. Attractive architecture sets the stage for an attractive walking environment, which in turn encourages residents to use transit instead of jumping into their cars. To avoid buildings with overwhelming mass, the building facades were softened with sloping lines and aesthetically pleasing structural features.

Another goal of the development was to infiltrate all stormwater instead of simply sending it to the combined storm and wastewater sewer. That posed a challenge because impervious surface covers 82 percent of the development. The stormwater management system includes landscaped swales and perforated pipe that sends water to an area on the site with permeable soils.

The project will be a mixed-income development. Of the 274 dwelling units, 130 will be rented or sold at market rates. Eighty-four will be available to households with income levels between 60 percent and 120 percent of the median income, and the remaining 60 will be available for households with incomes below 60 percent of the median.

Greg Acker: Ecotrust is a non-profit organization working on sustainable development projects in coastal communities in the temperate rain forest bioregion, extending from southeast Alaska to northern California. Ecotrust is transforming an old warehouse in northwest Portland into a commercial building that will be called the Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center. The project has three goals: 1) Help restore an urban ecosystem, 2) Advance the art of ecological design, and 3) Strengthen rural-urban links by, for example, creating urban markets for rural products. Patagonia has agreed to be the first tenant, and move-in day is Earth Day of 2001.

The 80,000-square-foot warehouse was built in 1885, and the building was acquired by Ecotrust in 1998. It is located in the River District, which is being targeted for redevelopment as part of an overall strategy to encourage compact growth.

The $10 million renovation will be based on five sustainability elements: earth, air, light, water and community. Passive systems and low-tech solutions will be used to make the best use of natural light and energy. Reused and reclaimed materials will be used, along with products sustainably manufactured. For the building to serve as a realistic example of sustainable building, Ecotrust will push to finish the job on time and on budget. Ecotrust expects to earn profits, which will be reinvested in communities throughout the coastal rain forest bioregion. (For more information about this project, visit http://www.ecotrust.org/building.htm)

Discussion
Issues raised in discussion included: 1) advice for people planning development projects, 2) market-based incentives for sustainable development, and 3) development codes and policies.

Advice for Development Projects: Acker said energy is the most important consideration in terms of reducing life-cycle costs. Concomitant with energy is site planning, which can reduce energy consumption by optimizing the use of daylight and passive solar energy. Hall spoke in favor of transit-oriented development and parking ratios that encourage use of transit. McNamara recommended setting achievable goals, and observed that sustainability must be integrated into project planning from day one. Allow lots of time to resolve project issues.

Beaton said it is important for community and company needs to complement each other. Incentives may be necessary to encourage companies to create sustainable projects.

Market-Based Incentives: McNamara said incentive-based regulatory fees would encourage sustainable developments. For example, why not base stormwater fees on the amount that is percolated into the ground vs. dumped into the storm sewer—the more that is percolated, the lower the fee. Buckman Heights was required to pay the same stormwater fee as conventional projects, even though the complex was designed to percolate every drop of stormwater into the ground. He also suggested tying sewer fees to water efficiency—the more water-efficient a project is, the lower the sewer hookup charge. Sending price signals through fees structured in this manner would help developers make better informed choices.

Lower energy costs can improve a building’s economics, enhancing its marketability and enabling developers to qualify for additional financing.

Codes and Policies: McNamara said development codes and policies need to make allowances for creative approaches. It’s too easy for architects and contractors to stick with the conventional—such as sending stormwater into storm sewers. The mechanical code, for example, doesn’t take into account new ventilation techniques. There should be an effort to integrate codes addressing building and transportation so they work together to promote sustainability.

Additional Presentations

Thuy Vu: Thurston County has a non-point source ordinance that applies to both residences and businesses. Requirements include recycling or off-site removal of hazardous waste and secondary containment. Land use proposals from the cities of Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater are sent to the county to ensure compliance with the ordinance.

The environmental health department carried out a technical assistance program designed to protect drinking water sources from contamination. In 1998, the program covered 183 businesses located in wellhead protection areas and found that 33 posed a moderate risk. They included auto repair shops, nurseries, dental offices, printers, schools, and retail establishments. A postcard sent to all 183 businesses described potential risks to groundwater. Results of a survey taken after technical assistance visits showed that 77 percent found the visits helpful and 76 percent learned more about the wellhead protection program. The most effective way to deliver information was through fact sheets.

Lessons learned included:

• Coordinating schedules is important in working with other units of government

• Coordination is necessary to prepare postcard language

• People don’t always read their mail

• Don’t assume a business poses low risks to groundwater

Kendra Smith: The Unified Sewerage Agency is a regional surface water and sanitary sewer agency in Washington County, Ore. Urban sprawl is disturbing watersheds and reducing water quality in streams. The impervious surfaces that accompany urbanization affect stream hydrology, by reducing percolation, increasing runoff and upsetting drainage patterns. Channels that are not capable of handling increased flows are eroded; more than 50 percent of the suspended sediment found in a stream during a storm may come from in-channel erosion.

The Dawson Creek watershed is changing. Agriculture, which dates back to the 1850s, is giving way to urbanization. Intel and NEC are among the businesses that have come in, and their parking lots have caused noticeable impacts on the creek’s hydrology.

High-tech businesses use and discharge large quantities of process water. Over the long term, the sewerage agency would like to see 100 percent recycling of industrial wastewater. In the meantime, however, an industrial wastewater line is being built in the Dawson Creek corridor. Goals accompanying the project include: 1) Preserve the creek’s natural features, 2) Obtain buffers by buying conservation easements, 3) Enhance the watershed through habitat restoration, and 4) Look for ways to manage stormwater. Intel plans to "adopt" the watershed and is looking at ways to reduce impervious surfaces in new development and increasing percolation of stormwater from existing development in order to stabilize the creek’s hydrology.

For installing the wastewater line, a contractor that uses special techniques for working in wetlands has been hired. Special mats for carrying equipment atop wetlands, burrowing beneath the creek, and erosion control are among the techniques being used. Planned restoration projects include removal of invasive species, habitat restoration, replanting native shrubs and trees, putting large woody debris in the stream to create fish habitat, and replacing culverts.

Bob Glascock and Greg East: The Portland water system is partially served by about two dozen wells drawing from four aquifers east of the city near Portland International Airport. Groundwater can be difficult to manage, because it’s impossible to see what is happening in an aquifer and information must be collected through borings. Cleaning up pollution is expensive, and it’s not easy to figure out where pollution is coming from or where it may be going.

After annexing the area the wells are in, the city created the Columbia South Shore Planning District to plan its future. It is an ideal location for industrial development, because it is close to roads and the airport. A development plan was drafted in 1987.

To accommodate development while protecting the aquifer, the city has adopted a protective zoning plan that bars certain manufacturing processes and materials that would increase aquifer pollution risks. Among the prohibited processes and industrial materials are large-scale chemical mixing and manufacturing, wood preservation using copper-chromate-arsenic, oils containing perchlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), used battery processing or recycling, petroleum storage tanks (except fuel tanks for fleet vehicles), metal smelting, and halogenated pesticides, such as ethylene dibromide and DBCP.

What makes the zoning plan work is that city bureaus were required to work together, based on the premise that effective water quality protection must be preventive in nature.

Cities and counties should consider protective zoning if they have clear goals, expect development or redevelopment in wellhead areas, desire permanent protection, and can deploy technical staff to handle permitting. Protective zoning is not as effective for preventing pollution from existing land uses, because of the difficulty of policing occupancy changes and the transaction costs. Zoning must be watchdogged after implementation, as politicians come and go.

Discussion
Issues raised in discussion included: 1) drivers that prompted Intel to adopt the Dawson Creek watershed, and 2) stormwater management in industrial areas.

Dawson Creek: Smith said that one reason for Intel’s "adoption" of the watershed is that the company has an interest in clean water supplies. Stormwater: In response to a question about eco-roofs, East said they don’t address polluted runoff from loading docks and streets. Roof drainage is not as serious a concern as drainage from paved areas traversed by vehicles.

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION (NGO) ISSUES

Facilitator:
  Catherine Dickerson
    PPRC
    206-352-2050, cdickerson@pprc.org
    http://www.pprc.org

Speakers:

  Alan Hipolito
    Urban League of Portland, also representing Coalition for a Livable Future
    503-280-2628, alan@teleport.com
    National Urban League: http://www.nul.org
    Coalition for a Livable Future: http://www.friends.org/clf/clf.html

  Nina Bell
    Northwest Environmental Advocates
    503-295-0490, nbell@advocates-nwea.org

  Ed McNamara
    Prendergast & Associates – Buckman Heights Project
    503-223-6605

  Jeff Allen
    Oregon Environmental Council
    503-222-1963, jeff@orcouncil.org
    http://www.orcouncil.org

Background
The purpose of the session was to provide the P2 community an opportunity become familiar with issues NGOs are working on.

The Bottom Line

• To overcome environmental racism, agencies must provide low-income communities with meaningful participation in decisions affecting their neighborhoods.

• TMDLs need implementation plans to be effective in cleaning up degraded bodies of water. They must seek compliance with both numerical and narrative standards in order to protect beneficial uses.

• "Green taxation" and marginal costing are tools for incorporating environmental costs into price information.

Presentations

Alan Hipolito: Environmental racism has two aspects: 1) disparate exposure of low-income communities and communities of color to impacts of new projects and old environmental problems, such as brownfield sites, and 2) limited access to decision-making about projects that affect those communities.

Over the short-term, the disparate impacts must be remedied. Over the long-term, more access to decision-making must be made available. For example, on the issue of lead exposure, Urban League and other organizations acquired resources to help people minimize their exposure to lead in the home. Over the long term, groups like the Urban League are working to ensure that the communities they represent have influence over design and operation of environmental health programs.

The brownfields problem in north and northeast Portland is characterized by many small sites scattered throughout the community: old gas station and old dry cleaning shops near homes, schools and day care centers, for example. North and northeast Portland also have the worst air quality in the city, because of proximity to freeways, major arterial roads, and truck depots, and because of unfavorable weather patterns.

The environmental justice angle on growth management is that directing development into central urban areas can result in gentrification that drives up housing prices. If communities have access to growth management decision-making, there will be greater likelihood that redevelopment will revitalize rather than gentrify their neighborhoods.

Traditional civil rights tools are not effective for working environmental issues. No project developer would openly and deliberately propose putting an environmentally harmful project into a black neighborhood, for example. A more effective approach to seeking environmental justice is to use citizen lawsuit provisions in environmental laws.

Mainstream environmental groups can be of service to community groups in pursuing citizen suits, because of their experience with this type of litigation. The mainstream groups must take care, however, that they genuinely serve the communities, rather than take the issues away from them.

Regulators must act proactively to ensure that there is meaningful community participation in decision-making. They should work with community groups to get information out so residents can be informed participants in decision-making.

Other recommendations for working constructively with community organizations include:

• Recognize the barriers to trust. The burden will be on regulators and mainstream environmental groups to prove they are genuinely seeking environmental justice and informed community participation in decision-making.

• Give people from communities of color influential positions within organizations in order to enhance the trust-building process. A good example of an organization that has done so is Willamette Riverkeeper (http://www.willamette-riverkeeper.org).

Discussion
A question raised in discussion was how regulators can involve communities of color in decision-making. Hipolito suggested turning to community organizations working on social, education, employing or housing issues. Tap into communications networks that serve the communities. Try using radio, for example.

Environmental Justice/Environmental Racism Resources

EPA Office of Environmental Justice http://es.epa.gov/oeca/oejbut.html

EcoJustice Network http://www.igc.apc.org/envjustice

Community Coalition for Environmental Justice http://www.halcyon.com/ccej

Oregon Environmental Council EJ Program http://www.orcouncil.org/justice.html

Nina Bell: Northwest Environmental Advocates has been involved in litigation against EPA involving Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) programs in both Oregon and Washington.

TMDLs are a process for cleaning up bodies of water that do not meet clean water standards necessary to protect beneficial uses. Under Section 303 (d) of the Clean Water Act, states must prepare lists of bodies of water that do not meet "fishable, swimmable" water quality standards and then prepare TMDLs for those bodies of water. TMDLs describe how standards are being violated, where pollution is coming from, how much pollution a body of water can receive and still meet standards, and how the allowable pollution should be allocated among point and non-point sources. In essence, a TMDL is a pollution budget designed to clean up a body of water.

For point sources, TMDLs can be implemented through NPDES permits. Implementing TMDLs for non-point sources can be complex. Semi-regulatory and regulatory approaches may be used. An example of a "semi-regulatory" program is an agricultural planning requirement that provides for voluntary implementation of water quality measures. A bill in the Washington Legislature, HB 2171, could weaken the TMDL process. (For a summary of the bill, and of testimony for and against, visit http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/billinfo/1999-00/house/2150-2174/2171_hbr_03101999.txt. The full text of the latest draft of the bill is at http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/billinfo/1999-00/house/2150-2174/2171-s_03081999.txt)

To be effective, TMDLs need implementation plans that include monitoring, schedules and assignments for cleanup of contaminated sites and implementation of best management practices. Following the recommendation of a federal advisory committee, EPA has recommended inclusion of implementation plans in TMDLs.

Another point of complexity is how water quality standards should be interpreted. Often, the focus is on numerical pollution limits. The legal definition, however, is broader – protection of beneficial uses and compliance with numerical, narrative and non-degradation criteria. Narrative criteria fill gaps in information. Health impacts of fish consumption and the impacts of PBTs on piscivorous aquatic wildlife are of particular interest.

Northwest regulators should consult with other regions that have studied TMDL issues closely, such as the Great Lakes. A question to be addressed is how TMDLs should be factored into voluntary programs.

TMDL Resources

EPA Office of Water TMDL Program http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/TMDL

Washington Department of Ecology TMDLs Page http://www.wa.gov/ecology/wq/tmdl/index.html

Oregon DEQ 303 (d) List http://waterquality.deq.state.or.us/wq/303dlist/303dpage.htm

Jeff Allen: The Oregon Environmental Council (OEC) works on clean air, clean water, sustainable economies, and environmental justice issues. OEC is trying to move away from issue-by-issue, project-by-project battles.

There are two good reasons why companies implement pollution prevention: 1) fear of enforcement, and 2) pollution is waste and waste is costly. For the cost of waste to be brought home, however, the market must deliver that information through price signals. Market imperfections can keep cost information out of price signals, leading to pollution and resource depletion. There are three ways to address this problem:

• Internalize environmental "externalities." Environmental costs that are not reflected in market prices are called "externalities" by economists. Examples of tools for internalizing externalities are fees or taxes charged on pollution sources such as vehicle miles traveled or pesticides. SB 617, a bill in the Oregon Legislature, would establish a system for tracking pesticides sales and use, authorize grants for alternative pest control measures such as integrated pest management, and charge fees to pesticide buyers. (Text of the bill is at gopher://gopher.leg.state.or.us:70/00/measure.dir/Senate_Measures/sb600.dir/sb0617g.int)

• Shift from average costing to marginal costing. Under average costing, buyers pay the same price for a service or a commodity, regardless of the individual costs of serving particular customers. For example, say a surface water management utility charges project developers the same stormwater fee, regardless of the amount of runoff that each project sends to the stormwater management system. The result is that the price often does not reflect costs accurately, resulting in inefficiencies and cross-subsidies. Under marginal costing, prices vary depending on the cost of serving individual customers. Under the above example, stormwater fees would vary depending on the amount of runoff projects send to the stormwater management system. The more runoff, the higher the fee. HB 3101, a bill in the Oregon Legislature, would require wastewater discharge permit fees to be based on actual volumes discharged. (Text of the bill is at gopher://gopher.leg.state.or.us:70/00/measure.dir/House_Measures/hb3100.dir/hb3101g.int)

• Tax shift. The premise of the "tax shift" concept is to shift taxes away from societal "goods" such as income and onto societal "bads" such as pollution and resource depletion. HB 2473, a bill in the Oregon Legislature, would establish a study commission to prepare proposals for environmental taxes. Questions the commission would consider include eliminating existing taxes and imposing new ones. Ideas listed in the bill include 1) taxes on pesticides and fertilizer to improve water quality, 2) air and water pollution taxes to encourage pollution prevention and reduced toxic air emissions, 3) taxes on household hazardous materials, 4) a carbon tax to encourage energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 5) vehicle emissions taxes to improve urban air quality, 6) water withdrawal charges to encourage water efficiency, 7) shift in property taxes from buildings to land in order to discourage sprawl, and 8) reduction of existing personal income, corporate income, and property taxes. (Text of the bill is at gopher://gopher.leg.state.or.us:70/00/measure.dir/House_Measures/hb2400.dir/hb2473g.int)

OEC is reaching out to both business and the environmental justice communities in gathering support for the tax shift idea. It might be possible to drive a political wedge between clean service industries and industries that create a lot of environmental impacts.

A potential political problem with green taxes is that individuals may not think they’re creating pollution problems. Industry’s help will be necessary to ensure that small, cumulative sources of pollution are subject to taxes as well as large sources.

Discussion Issues raised in discussion included impacts of a tax shift on low-income people and agencies’ attitudes about tax shift.

Impacts on Low-Income: Allen said some of the feared impacts are overstated. For example, low-income people are more dependent on transit. Older passenger cars may be cleaner than newer sport-utility vehicles. It should be possible to ameliorate impacts through mechanisms such as rebates.

Agencies’ Attitudes: Allen said the Oregon DEQ has a positive attitude about tax shift. The state Department of Revenue is not sure what to make of the idea.

Tax Shift Resources

"Tax Shift: How to Help the Economy, Improve the Environment and Get the Tax Man Off Our Backs," book by Northwest Environment Watch.
See description at http://www.northwestwatch.org/tax.html

OEC Green Taxes Program http://www.orcouncil.org/green.html

Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Ecological Tax Reform Program http://www.me3.org/projects/greentax

FAVORITE FAILURES

Facilitator:
  Dave Rozell
    Oregon DEQ
    503-229-5918, rozell.dave@deq.state.or.us
    http://www.deq.state.or.us

Background
The purpose of the session was to share favorite stories about technical assistance failures, and the lessons that were learned.

The Bottom Line
Lessons that emerged from the stories shared in this session included:

• Understand your audience’s needs and tailor information accordingly.

• Identify and target the key people in your audience who can effect change.

Stories and Lessons

The Publications the Audience Couldn’t Read
The Washington Department of Ecology conducted a dry cleaners outreach campaign, including manuals and printed materials. However, none of the printed materials were in Korean, so they were unusable for Korean-owned dry cleaning shops.

The Workshops Few Attended
Oregon DEQ scheduled three technical assistance workshops for printers. Total attendance at all three: seven printers. DEQ later realized that holding workshops during the day conflicted with printers’ work hours.

Lesson Learned

• Tailor your approach to your audience’s needs.

Find a Hook
Oregon DEQ planned a Small Business Assistance Program training session at Chemeteka Community College. An extensive marketing effort was conducted, but only three business representatives showed up.

Lesson Learned

• Give people a compelling reason to attend your event. Business people will be interested in hearing about regulations. Use that as a vehicle to leave them with a P2 message.

Money Talks Rozell said Oregon DEQ attracted 50 business people to a training session in Pendleton. DEQ worked with the local chamber of commerce on marketing, and the session was advertised as "come make your business better." The session cost $50 per person to attend.

Lessons Learned

• Market your event in ways that speak directly to your audience’s concerns.
• Consider charging for services. People who pay to attend are more likely to show up. Charging a fee communicates a message that the event has value and is worth the time.

The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions
Rozell described DEQ’s efforts to clean up the Oregon Department of Transportation’s (DOT) hazardous materials management practices. Inspections at three of DOT’s facilities revealed serious problems. For example, paint and solvent wastes were being dumped directly onto the ground. A fine was proposed by the hazardous waste section, but DEQ decided instead to offer technical assistance. Thousands of hours of staff time were expended on training and site visits carried out at a dozen DOT facilities.

In evaluating the results of the assistance, DEQ discovered to its dismay that little had changed. A fine was finally imposed, and only then did DOT clean up. DEQ realized after the fact that DOT’s regional managers, the ones with authority to order changes in management practices, should have been targeted by the assistance project.

Lesson Learned

• Identify the people in your audience who can effect real change and work with them.

The Jailhouse Rocks
Rozell described a state prison furniture shop that was under an enforcement action. DEQ convinced the furniture shop manager that he could save money and make the shop look good by implementing a few changes. The shop owner became a waste reduction champion and eventually worked as an-house consultant for the state penal system.

Lesson Learned

• Find and cultivate an internal champion

Discussion
An issue that came up in discussion was the need to fully understand your audience and use that information to figure out the most effective approach. Kevin Masterson said there may be industries where a "warm and fuzzy" outreach approach won’t work, and compliance inspections are the only effective means of getting their attention.

A Whale of a Story
Rozell told the famous story of the exploding whale fiasco. A dead whale washed up on an Oregon beach in 1970 and DOT was called in to figure out what to do with it. DOT decided to blow the carcass up. In front of a crowd of enthusiastic bystanders, including a television news crew, the dynamite was set off. People in the crowd quickly lost their enthusiasm, however, as they were forced to run for their lives to escape a torrent of whale blubber falling from the sky. A piece of blubber even crushed a car parked some distance away. For more information about the exploding whale story, including links to a video of the actual event and humorist Dave Barry’s commentary, visit http://www.perp.com/whale

Lesson Learned

• Try to discourage television coverage of your failure.

LIST OF ATTENDEES

Name	Organization	Telephone	E-mail
Greg Acker	Ecotrust	503-735-9192	acker@spiretech.com
Jeff Allen	Oregon Environmental Council	503-222-1963	jeff@orcouncil.org
Gary Barnes	Portland BES	503-823-7383	garyb@bes.ci.portland.or.us
Lynn Beaton	Oregon Economic Development Dept.	503-986-0201
Nina Bell	NW Environmental Advocates	503-295-0490	nbell@advocates-nwea.org
John Bernardo	Idaho DEQ	208-373-0114	jbernard@deq.state.id.us
Jon Biemer	BPA	503-230-5995	jrbiemer@bpa.gov
Cory-Ann Chang	Oregon DEQ	503-229-5567	chang.cory.ann@deq.state.or.us
Blair Collins	NW Energy Efficiency Alliance	503-827-8416	bcollins@nwalliance.org
Bart Collinsworth	Oregon DEQ	503-378-8240	collinsworth.bart@deq.state.or.us
Dick Crosbie	Nike	503-671-6453
Larry Cwik	Oregon DEQ	503-229-5728	cwik.larry@deq.state.or.us
Anne Dalrymple	EPA Region 10	206-553-0199	dalrymple.anne@epa.gov
Catherine Dickerson	PPRC	206-352-2050	cdickerson@pprc.org
Jim DiPeso	PPRC	206-352-2050	jdipeso@pprc.org
Eric Dover	PSR		dovers@open.org
Greg East	Portland Bureau of Water Works	503-823-7577
Larry Eisele	Washington County, OR	503-648-8609	larry_eisele@co.washington.or.us
Marianne Fitzgerald	Oregon DEQ	503-229-5946	fitzgerald.marianne@deq.state.or.us
Tom Gainer		503-281-9623
Carolyn Gangmark	EPA Region 10	206-553-4072	gangmark.carolyn@epa.gov
Bob Glascock	Portland Planning Bureau	503-823-7845	bglascock@ci.portland.or.us
Connie Grenz	Collins Pine	503-471-2234	cgrenz@collinsco.com
John Hall	Portland Development Commission	503-823-3199	hallj@portlanddev.org
Kelly Hendryx	Portland BES	503-823-7585	kellyh@bes.ci.portland.or.us
Thor Hinckley	Portland City Council	503-823-3031	thinckley@ci.portland.or.us
Alan Hipolito	Urban League of Portland	503-280-2628	alan@teleport.com
Richard Hoiland	City of VancouverWastewater Division	360-696-8008
Tim Honadel	Oregon DEQ	503-229-5316	honadel.tim@deq.state.or.us
Dawn Hottenroth	Portland BES	503-823-7767	dawnh@bes.ci.portland.or.us
Brett Hulstrom	Portland BES	503-823-7807	bretth@ci.portland.or.us
Jill Inahara	Oregon DEQ	503-229-6147	inahara.jill@deq.state.or.us
Judy Kennedy	WA Dept. of Ecology	360-407-6744	jken461@ecy.wa.gov
David Kunz	OR DEQ	503-229-6237	kunz.david@deq.state.or.us
Tapio Kuusinen	Pacific Northwest Labs	509-372-4234	Tapio.Kuusinen@pnl.gov
Wayne Lei	Portland General Electric	503-223-5365	wayne_lei@pgn.com
Ann Levine	Oregon DEQ	503-229-5408	levine.ann@deq.state.or.us
Kevin Masterson	Oregon DEQ	503-229-5615	masterson.kevin@deq.state.or.us
Ed McNamara	Prendergast & Assoc.	503-223-6605
Barbara Minton	Oregon DEQ	541-278-4622	minton.barbara@deq.state.or.us
Curt Nichols	Portland Energy Office	503-823-7418	curt@ci.portland.or.us
Margaret Nover	Portland BES	503-823-5565	margaret@bes.ci.portland.or.us
Larry Oliver	Portland BES	503-823-7875	larryo@bes.ci.portland.or.us
Hugh O'Neill	WA Dept. of Ecology	360-407-6354	hone461@ecy.wa.gov
John Palmer	EPA Region 10	206-553-6521	palmer.john@epa.gov
Joanne Phillipson	WA Dept. of Ecology	360-407-6740	joph461@ecy.wa.gov
Jill Peterson	Nike	503-532-0316	jill.peterson@nike.com
Lieve Priano	Oregon DEQ	503-229-6914	priano.lieve@deq.state.or.us
Mary Lou Quinn		503-287-3171
Dave Reveley	Oregon DEQ	503-229-5564	reveley.david@deq.state.or.us
Darin Rice	WA Dept. of Ecology	360-407-6743	dric461@ecy.wa.gov
Morgan Rider	LSI Logic	503-618-4755	mrider@lsil.com
Dave Rozell	Oregon DEQ	503-229-5918	rozell.dave@deq.state.or.us
Dan Saltzman	Portland City Commissioner	503-823-4151	dsaltzman@ci.portland.or.us
Sam Sasnett	EPA Headquarters	202-260-8020	sasnett.sam@epa.gov
Kendra Smith	Unified Sewerage Agency	503-844-8118	smithk@usa-cleanwater.org
Madeline Sten	PPRC	206-352-2050	msten@pprc.org
Thuy Vu	Thurston County, WA, Env. Health	360-754-4111	vuthuy@co.thurston.wa.us
Dave Waddell	King County LHWMP	206-689-3069	dave.waddell@metrokc.gov
Jim Whitty	Center for Watershed and Community Health	503-293-7201

 

LIST OF HANDOUTS

Updates and Background Materials

Idaho Division of Environmental Quality
GEMStars newsletter
John Bernardo, 208-373-0114, jbernard@deq.state.id.us

National Pollution Prevention Roundtable
Proposed amendments to Pollution Prevention Act of 1990
Marianne Fitzgerald, 503-229-5946, fitzgerald.marianne@deq.state.or.us

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Program Update
David Kunz, 503-229-6237, kunz.david@deq.state.or.us,

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Program Update
Tapio Kuusinen, 509-372-4234, tapio.kuusinen@pnl.gov

Portland Energy Office
Portland Energy Challenge brochure
Curt Nichols, 503-823-7418, curt@ci.portland.or.us

Portland Bureau of Environmental Services
Program Update
Margaret Nover, 503-823-7623, margaret@bes.ci.portland.or.us

Washington Department of Ecology
Program Update, "Reducing Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Substances in Washington: 1997 Annual Progress Report."
Judy Kennedy, 360-407-6744, jken461@ecy.wa.gov

Presentation Materials (In agenda order)

Plenary Session – Sustainable Development and P2

Portland Energy Office
Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow (BEST) brochure
Curt Nichols, 503-823-7418, curt@ci.portland.or.us

Nike
Corporate Environmental Mission and Policy Summary Nike Involved, brochure
Jill Peterson, 503-532-0316, jill.peterson@nike.com

"The P2 Measurement Challenge Part I: A National P2 Index," by Tom Neltner and Ken Zarker
"Proposed Pollution Prevention Metrics Menu for Discussion at the NEWMOA P2 Roundtable Meeting, March 3-4, 1999," by NEWMOA
"Proposed Conceptual Framework for Assessing Pollution Prevention Progress," assembled by Tom Neltner
Marianne Fitzgerald, 503-229-5946, fitzgerald.marianne@deq.state.or.us